Tribute breakfast to be held for Charlotte County Sgt. Elio DiazGov. DeSantis to hold news conference in Winter Haven
port charlotte Tribute breakfast to be held for Charlotte County Sgt. Elio Diaz A tribute breakfast is set to be held for Charlotte County Sgt. Elio Diaz, who was killed in the line of duty in December.
winter haven Gov. DeSantis to hold news conference in Winter Haven Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Winter Haven.
FORT MYERS Shell Factory & Nature Park announces online auction liquidation of remaining inventory Fans of the now-closed Shell Factory & Nature Park will have a final chance to own a piece of nostalgia with two virtual auctions.
the weather authority More clouds than sun for your Wednesday The Weather Authority is tracking an increased cloud coverage along with cooler conditions this Wednesday afternoon.
Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads-Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘It’s devastating’: Neighbor reflects on fatal fire in Port Charlotte A devastating house fire Monday night in Port Charlotte has left one person dead and another hospitalized while neighbors mourn the possible loss of a beloved member of their community.
‘The sound of death’ Neighbors concerned by amount of crashes on Joel Blvd A woman is heartbroken from witnessing crash after crash outside her Lehigh Acres home.
Fort Myers get 15% increase on flood insurance discount WINK News is finding out what led to the city of Fort Myers going from just a 5% FEMA flood insurance discount to a 20% discount.
FORT MYERS Locals house California wildfire victims The effects of the California fires are being felt worldwide as people evacuate some are in southwest Florida.
LOVERS KEY Couple returns to Lovers Key condo post Ian While Hurricane Ian is long gone from Southwest Florida, many are still feeling its impacts.
EVERGLADES Biden signs Water Resources Development Act, its effect on SWFL President Biden recently signed into law the Water Resources Development Act with an aim to improve rivers and harbors across the country and provide for the conservation of water. Southwest Florida was included in that act. Putting the 240-page plan together took a lot of work, not just from state and federal lawmakers, but also […]
Turning business travel into a vacation Would work travel seem a little easier if you could turn it into a vacation? Two professors say they have proof that would help business travel.
The future of biometrics: Safer security or new AI risks? In 2021, the Transportation Service Agency (TSA) launched its new touchless identity solution in the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airport.
CAPE CORAL Pelican Elementary resource officer saves infant A school resource officer at Pelican Elementary saved an infants’ life at a traffic stop in Cape Coral.
FORT MYERS Progress being made on City View Park in Dunbar More promises made by a city that has not kept its promises for the last six years have some neighbors concerned about the future of their community.
port charlotte Tribute breakfast to be held for Charlotte County Sgt. Elio Diaz A tribute breakfast is set to be held for Charlotte County Sgt. Elio Diaz, who was killed in the line of duty in December.
winter haven Gov. DeSantis to hold news conference in Winter Haven Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Winter Haven.
FORT MYERS Shell Factory & Nature Park announces online auction liquidation of remaining inventory Fans of the now-closed Shell Factory & Nature Park will have a final chance to own a piece of nostalgia with two virtual auctions.
the weather authority More clouds than sun for your Wednesday The Weather Authority is tracking an increased cloud coverage along with cooler conditions this Wednesday afternoon.
Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads-Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘It’s devastating’: Neighbor reflects on fatal fire in Port Charlotte A devastating house fire Monday night in Port Charlotte has left one person dead and another hospitalized while neighbors mourn the possible loss of a beloved member of their community.
‘The sound of death’ Neighbors concerned by amount of crashes on Joel Blvd A woman is heartbroken from witnessing crash after crash outside her Lehigh Acres home.
Fort Myers get 15% increase on flood insurance discount WINK News is finding out what led to the city of Fort Myers going from just a 5% FEMA flood insurance discount to a 20% discount.
FORT MYERS Locals house California wildfire victims The effects of the California fires are being felt worldwide as people evacuate some are in southwest Florida.
LOVERS KEY Couple returns to Lovers Key condo post Ian While Hurricane Ian is long gone from Southwest Florida, many are still feeling its impacts.
EVERGLADES Biden signs Water Resources Development Act, its effect on SWFL President Biden recently signed into law the Water Resources Development Act with an aim to improve rivers and harbors across the country and provide for the conservation of water. Southwest Florida was included in that act. Putting the 240-page plan together took a lot of work, not just from state and federal lawmakers, but also […]
Turning business travel into a vacation Would work travel seem a little easier if you could turn it into a vacation? Two professors say they have proof that would help business travel.
The future of biometrics: Safer security or new AI risks? In 2021, the Transportation Service Agency (TSA) launched its new touchless identity solution in the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airport.
CAPE CORAL Pelican Elementary resource officer saves infant A school resource officer at Pelican Elementary saved an infants’ life at a traffic stop in Cape Coral.
FORT MYERS Progress being made on City View Park in Dunbar More promises made by a city that has not kept its promises for the last six years have some neighbors concerned about the future of their community.
Joseph Zieler in court. Credit: WINK News On Tuesday, jury selection continued in the trial of Joseph Zieler, accused of murdering and sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter in 1990. The trial brings back vivid memories for a neighbor of the victims. Decades after the gruesome deaths of little Robin Cornell and 32-year-old Lisa Story in Cape Coral, DNA evidence linked Zieler to the crimes. Now, the accused killer’s defense team is working to keep him off death row. Elaine Belling remembers May 1990, when the headlines were all over TV and in the newspapers: “Cape woman, girl slain.” “It was the talk of the city, and it was pretty small back then,” Belling said. “Everyone was talking about it. And so I got on the computer and started reading every word written about it.” That’s when Belling realized the victims were her neighbors. Neighbors she never met. “It just seemed so unlike anything I had ever heard about Cape Coral,” Belling said. “It really hit me that… how heinous it was, a little 11-year-old girl.” Wednesday marks 33 years since the murder of Robin and Story in the Cornells’ Cape Coral home. Robin’s mother Jan found the bodies. For 26 years, Belling says, “There were no leads; you know, that the case went so cold.” But the headlines didn’t stop: “Mother still hopes to catch killer.” “I always thought someday, somehow, somebody’s going to find a clue,” Belling said. In 2016, detectives Todd Everly and Charles Garrett told WINK News they had found their man,Joseph Zieler, through a DNA match. “I said there was something missing from my career: the solving of this case,” one of the detectives said. “I feel in my heart that there is a God because I prayed for this day every day for 26 years,” Jan Cornell said the same year. “I was on the phone with a lot of my friends saying that they caught this guy,” Belling said. “They’ve caught him. And it just seemed like such an absolute miracle. And the mother of the little girl was on TV. And I had seen her interviewed before. And it just, it just hit me so hard.” Seven years later, Belling is ready to watch every day of Zieler’s trial. “Lots and lots of people who have lived here for many years are with, you know, with Mrs. Cornell,” Belling said.